Diesel engines are susceptible to starting problems in conditions of extreme cold temperature. The prior art has recognized that under extreme cold temperatures the diesel fuel can begin to gel and thereby become difficult to pump. Proposed solutions have included the use of fuel tank heaters, or storing the vehicle in a heated building.
We have discovered that in extreme cold temperatures, the small amount of water that can be contained in the diesel fuel will settle to the bottom of the fuel tank or reservoir and freeze to form ice wafers or pebbles. When the engine is started, the ice wafers can be sucked toward the fuel suction tube that is suspended in the reservoir. The presence of the ice wafer can actually block the flow of fuel and lead to an eventual stalling of the engine. In the vehicle service industry, this failure is commonly diagnosed as a clogging of the fuel filter. Thus, the service technician will routinely change the fuel filter. But, while the fuel filter is being changed, the vehicle will heat up in the service garage and the ice wafer will melt, unblocking the fuel suction tube. Of course, the engine will start and the service technician will believe he has fixed the problem by changing the fuel filter, whereas more likely, the problem solved itself by the melting of the ice wafer that had blocked the suction tube.
It would be desirable to provide a solution to the problem of ice wafers being sucked into the fuel suction tube of a diesel engine fuel reservoir.